A picture text: Active bees in an auger hole in an EPS hive. The temperature outside is minus twenty Celsius. The frost mustache shows that the bees are expelling moisture from the hive through the hole.

Bees are not active in 20 C. They surely are in cluster. If a big colony has been packed for winter too tight, it will be active and will die for starving.

I do not know who is this guy who just learn to use poly boxes. He found that hives are too air tight. He had not got teaching what to do with insulated hives.

Only difference in poly hive and in wooden hive is that wood soaks water into the wall and poly hive leaks all condensation onto floor. Insulation is ofcourse a difference. Insulation value of 10 mm polyurethane is equal 4 inch dry wood.

The floor may be a mesh floor or solid floor. It may be a mesh floor whick will be closed for winter.

Europe has used polyboxes in commercial level 20 years. It have had mites too 20 years.Biggest beeyard what I know in Finland is 3000 hives. There are several nearly 1000 hive farms.

Mite problem is well under control in Europe. Good advices we got almost 10 years ago how to do to Apistan resistant mites.

It is better that Canadian come to Germany to see how they nurse bees in poly hives and what they do to mites. There summer has perhaps the same lenght as in Canada.

Denmark has very advanced beekeeping too. Sweden and Finland have longer winter and shorter brood period than Canada..

It has no meaning, because in every hive mites must be hit down and stop their reproduction.

Trickling means that it is only method what you can use in the middle of winter. When there is a brood brake, trickling is quick and most éasy way to destroy 95% of mites. It does not allways succeed. Why, who knows...

Mite population douples itself in a month. It depends how much mites are alive after winter and brooding starts.Late mite treatment with thymol or formic acid is due to protect winter cluster bees, that they are abundant and not sucked by mites.

When treating, a hive may have 500 or 3000 mites. You just try to polish them without knowing how much they are. Some hives may be so much violated that they just die out. That is beekeeping life nowadays even among experienced beekeepers..

"Allen Dick, originally from Ontario, is a beekeeper from Swalwell, Alberta. Swalwell is situated northeast of Calgary and 100 miles east of the Rockies. Allen began keeping bees in Alberta in the 70’s and gradually built up to 3500 colonies for Canola pollination and honey production. He sold out a couple of years ago and currently keeps only a few colonies. Allen maintains a website at www.honeybeeworld.com and also hosts the website of the Iowa Honey Producers. His website contains a daily diary for several years of his operation and also has cataloged information on a number of beekeeper topics. Allen is very computer oriented and well informed on issues facing the beekeeping industry. Some of his other interests include kayaking, sailing and skiing."--The Buzz Newsletter, http://www.abuzzaboutbees.com/IHPA/TheBuzz/November05/Page5.htm

.The page says: "I have never seen anything to indicate that OA evaporation harms the bees, but reason insists that coating bees with acid has to have some deleterious effects."

Trickling has been used in commercial scale over 10 years. Results has been splendid.

Coating bees with acid - a tiny dust or with sugar glue, it has no meaning. Important is that mites die and the colony has not problems in Spring build up.

yes but you are trickling and he is evaporating (fumes from heat)--the evaporating is being explored --because-- beekeepers need to be able to apply more than one or two treatments in a season-with the high mite pressure exhibited in the commercial realm--trickling wont fill the bill for a large portion of beekeepers --remember we all have palmtrees ;) --its just a observation dont let it eat you alive-- 8-) RDY-B

"Allen Dick, originally from Ontario, is a beekeeper from Swalwell, Alberta. Swalwell is situated northeast of Calgary and 100 miles east of the Rockies. Allen began keeping bees in Alberta in the 70’s and gradually built up to 3500 colonies for Canola pollination and honey production. He sold out a couple of years ago and currently keeps only a few colonies. Allen maintains a website at www.honeybeeworld.com and also hosts the website of the Iowa Honey Producers. His website contains a daily diary for several years of his operation and also has cataloged information on a number of beekeeper topics. Allen is very computer oriented and well informed on issues facing the beekeeping industry. Some of his other interests include kayaking, sailing and skiing."--The Buzz Newsletter, http://www.abuzzaboutbees.com/IHPA/TheBuzz/November05/Page5.htm

yes very nice and i would like to add for finskis benefit not to be confused with other well known ALASKA beekeeperwith the name DICK ALLEN-- 8-) RDY-B

.I have read from researches that mesh floor hives have 20% less mites, but I have not met report that mesh floor has saved a hive from mites or from mite treatment. A mite population grows 100% every months. So you see that 20% has no meaning in this battle.

.Jee jee. Remember remember. You may do your beekeeping as difficult as you want.

Finski,According to the Canadian info my bees should have melted by now, been washed away by the condensation, eaten all their stores, over run with brood, over run with mites ... yet none of these has happened. No matter what the temp is outside, they keep the temp inside, the temp they want with no condensation visible even at -8c :)

Logged

If they increased energy bill for your home by a factor of 4.5 would you consider that cruel? If so why are you doing that to your bees?

.Jee jee. Remember remember. You may do your beekeeping as difficult as you want.

Finski,According to the Canadian info my bees should have melted by now, been washed away by the condensation, eaten all their stores, over run with brood, over run with mites ... yet none of these has happened. No matter what the temp is outside, they keep the temp inside, the temp they want with no condensation visible even at -8c :)

Finski, I am almost tempted to Prompt my Albertan friend to come on here and defend himself. But he probably doesn't need the trouble right now. He has some illness in his family. He is just doing a study on mite control not trying to pick a fight. He may very well repeat the process with a drizzle, i don't know.

He has a friend who is making fine epe hive bodies and I was really covetous til I heard about increased mite load. They are also fairly expensive and frieght out of Canada would be prohibitively expensive. I can see the poly boxes advantage in cold country but don't think I am quite that cold. I will just keep mine wrapped till May and call it good.

Finski, I am almost tempted to Prompt my Albertan friend to come on here and defend himself.

Do I then ask half of Europe to attack...Just stupid.... idea...

"We, half Europe", have used so long polyhives that it has no meaning what somebody says.

But we half Europe like to debate, which bottom board is the best and what inner cover insulation is the best.Do we need upper entrance....no yes no yes. We do not wrap hives, but those wrap because they have allways wrapped

I spent a couple hours reading the Alberta bee keepers diary (Allen Dick). A very impressive log indeed! Loads of information. I wish I was that religious in keeping a bee diary. Sad to read about the health issues, I wish them the best.

It is amazing that on Jan 19th he reported seeing bees walking around and fanning the top entrance when it was -26C outside! I’m not sure how you would explain that in a poly hive with only 30mm thick sides. It seems all the bees would need to be in cluster at -26C, even in a poly hive :?

Finski do you have an explanation? Do your bees walk around and fan at -26C?

Edward, maybe that's why these bees are in 3 boxes! The bees need all that food to raise brood :)

I don't know how to explain it :? My super insulated hives have 50mm polystyrene walls and are packed with bees (1 brood box). I haven't noticed any activity at the top entrance below about -7C. However I haven't been as observent as Allen Dick either.

I spent a couple hours reading the Alberta bee keepers diary (Allen Dick). A very impressive log indeed! Loads of information. I wish I was that religious in keeping a bee diary. Sad to read about the health issues, I wish them the best.

It is amazing that on Jan 19th he reported seeing bees walking around and fanning the top entrance when it was -26C outside! I’m not sure how you would explain that in a poly hive with only 30mm thick sides. It seems all the bees would need to be in cluster at -26C, even in a poly hive :?

Finski do you have an explanation? Do your bees walk around and fan at -26C?

maybe fanning to move air for other reasons than temp control e.g. CO2, or humidity. hi

Logged

If they increased energy bill for your home by a factor of 4.5 would you consider that cruel? If so why are you doing that to your bees?